--- description: Find out why 'Jewels of the Sun' made the list. title: 'Jewels of the Sun' Is on TIME’s List of the 50 Best Romance Novels image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt630c4400db437fbd/698a594386f68e489b6f564a/Jewels-of-the-Sun-Nora-Roberts.png?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 01, 2024 # Jewels of the Sun by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/) ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer  If there’s one writer whose name is synonymous with contemporary romance, it’s Nora Roberts. As the author of more than 250 books over the past 40-plus years—including nearly 230 best sellers—Roberts is _the_ titan of the genre. Collectively, her books have sold over half a billion copies, been translated into at least 25 languages, and won 22 Romance Writers of America RITA Awards (counting those she won under her pseudonym, J.D. Robb), earning her the inaugural spot in RWA’s Hall of Fame. Roberts is also credited with ushering in a more modern era of romance, one characterized by female empowerment and desire rather than the domineering men and blurred lines of consent common in bodice rippers of the 1970s. In _Jewels of the Sun_, the first novel in her _Gallaghers of Ardmore_ trilogy, published in 1999, Roberts’ talent for blending passion, humor, and heart shines through as she crafts a love story between American psychologist Jude Murray and pub owner Aidan Gallagher in the picturesque Irish village of Ardmore. The cozy tale follows Jude and Aidan as their shared fascination with Irish folklore—the magic of which permeates the narrative—slowly blossoms into much more. **Buy Now:** _Jewels of the Sun_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780425271582 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3S5e4cp "undefined") These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996653/jewels-of-the-sun/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996653/jewels-of-the-sun/"},"headline":"Jewels of the Sun","datePublished":"2024-08-01T12:21:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:34:23.037Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996653/jewels-of-the-sun/","keywords":["Books","E-Commerce","list","Special Project"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt630c4400db437fbd/698a594386f68e489b6f564a/Jewels-of-the-Sun-Nora-Roberts.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"creator":"Megan McCluskey","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt630c4400db437fbd/698a594386f68e489b6f564a/Jewels-of-the-Sun-Nora-Roberts.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996653/jewels-of-the-sun/","name":"Jewels of the Sun"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Romance Authors Share the Steamiest Book They've Ever Read","description":"Romance authors like Emily Henry and Beverly Jenkins talk about the steamiest book they've ever read.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/jXMACfdW/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-07-30T10:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jXMACfdW.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996653/jewels-of-the-sun/","duration":"PT1M21S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996653/jewels-of-the-sun/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```